First Battle of Arquijas
Encyclopedia
Opening shots
The battle began when Liberal forces found Carlist general Tomás de ZumalacárreguiTomás de Zumalacárregui
- From Peninsula War to Ferdinand VII:Zumalacárregui was born at Ormaiztegi in Gipuzkoa, Basque Country, on 29 December 1788. His father, Francisco Antonio de Zumalacárregui, was a lawyer who possessed some property, and the son was articled to a solicitor....
waiting at the bridge of Arquijas over the Ega River
Ega River
The Ega is a river in the north of Spain. It is a tributary of the Ebro. The Ega flows through Navarre, but it originates in Álava, near Lagrán, and flows through the town of Estella - Lizarra....
in Navarre
Navarre
Navarre , officially the Chartered Community of Navarre is an autonomous community in northern Spain, bordering the Basque Country, La Rioja, and Aragon in Spain and Aquitaine in France...
; about the middle of the day, some gunshots were exchanged between the several advanced posts.
Battle at the bridge
The Liberals under Luis Fernández de CórdovaLuis Fernández de Córdova
Luis Fernández de Córdova was a Spanish military general and diplomat.Hhe was the elder brother of Fernando Fernández de Córdova...
attempted to force this bridge. The division of Cordova formed itself in order of battle near the hermitage
Hermitage (religious retreat)
Although today's meaning is usually a place where a hermit lives in seclusion from the world, hermitage was more commonly used to mean a settlement where a person or a group of people lived religiously, in seclusion.-Western Christian Tradition:...
of Arquijas (Ermita de Nuestra Señora de Arquijas), which commanded the rapids near the bridge. Artillery
Artillery
Originally applied to any group of infantry primarily armed with projectile weapons, artillery has over time become limited in meaning to refer only to those engines of war that operate by projection of munitions far beyond the range of effect of personal weapons...
was stationed by the Liberals near this spot to protect the passage of the Liberal forces. A column of picked men, composed of carabiniers and peseteros, attempted to cross the bridge.
The Carlist Fourth Battalion of Navarre, reinforced by the tercios of Guipuzcoa, protecting the bridge, threw the Liberals back. "A few of the most adventurous [Liberal soldiers] succeeded, with great trouble, in gaining the opposite bank; but soon the bridge was covered with carcasses, and, despite all their efforts, they could not advance a step further."
Oraá's Feign
Marcelino de Oraá Lecumberri
Marcelino de Oraá Lecumberri was a Basque Spanish military man and administrator. Born in Beriain in Navarre, he distinguished himself as a cadet during the War of Spanish Independence....
to get, by a concealed march, into the rear of the Carlists, and to General Lopez, to feign a similar movement, thereby distracting the Carlists. There were about 2,000 troops under Liberal general Oraá that had been detached by Córdova and sent to attack the Carlist rear.
The Liberals' leading column, led by Oraá, advanced against the Carlist center, leaving another division to oppose the Carlist right wing.
Sources disagree on what happened next. One source states that Zumalacárregui sent Ituralde's advanced guard, which had not yet seen action, to counter this rearguard action. Another states that Ituralde, "urged by an inconsiderate ardour which overcame his judgment, brought forward into sight his four battalions." These battalions, forming the left wing, had been concealed from view by the hill beneath which they were stationed.
Oraá instantly saw the snare into which he was about to fall, and changed his line of advance from north to west, moving directly upon Ituralde’s division, throwing out at the same time two battalions so as to outflank him. The Carlist left wing, thus enveloped and outnumbered, was driven back in confusion.
Zumalacárregui's intervention
Zumalacárregui then supported Ituralde, leaving only 2 or 3 battalions in observation; Zumalacárregui hastily marched to support his left wing under Ituralde. The Liberals had already compelled Ituralde to retreat. However, Zumalacárregui’s unexpected reinforcement threw the Liberals into disorder. The Liberals gave way, falling back on their second line.One source states that "it is said that, at this juncture, Cordova, believing the day to be lost, gave Oraa orders to retreat; the latter, however, more experienced in such affairs, took upon himself the responsibility of disregarding the order." Córdova did in fact retreat in disorder, abandoning the division.
The division, under Oraá, found itself opposed to Ituralde in the valley of Lana
Lana, Navarre
Lana is a town and municipality located in the province and autonomous community of Navarre, northern Spain with a population of 197 people.-External links:*...
.
A 5-hour long combat followed.
The sources again disagree on what happened next. One source states that Oraá attacked but his detachment of over 2,000 men was dispersed in the Lana valley and fled, the nighttime covering their retreat. However, another source states that “the superiority of position and numbers had given the [Liberals] an advantage against which the Carlists found it impossible to contend.”
"One has to recognize that in the battle at Arquijas," Vicente Blasco Ibáñez
Vicente Blasco Ibáñez
Vicente Blasco Ibáñez was a Spanish realist novelist writing in Spanish, a screenwriter and occasional film director....
has written, "the victory would have been the Carlists' had it not been for the skill and daring of Oráa, who knew how to extricate himself from a dire situation, as General Córdova had shown lamentable irresolution retreating from the battlefield before hostilities had ceased."
Aftermath
Córdova was replaced by Manuel Lorenzo as a result of this defeat. Córdova had withdrawn to Los ArcosLos Arcos
Los Arcos is a town and municipality located in the province and the autonomous community of Navarre, northern Spain.-External links:*...
, where he got orders from Espoz y Mina to quit his command and go to Madrid
Madrid
Madrid is the capital and largest city of Spain. The population of the city is roughly 3.3 million and the entire population of the Madrid metropolitan area is calculated to be 6.271 million. It is the third largest city in the European Union, after London and Berlin, and its metropolitan...
.
On February 5, 1835, the Liberals attacked the same spot at the Second Battle of Arquijas
Second Battle of Arquijas
The Second Battle of Arquijas was a battle of the First Carlist War. It followed the First Battle of Arquijas. The battle was a second attack on the positions of Carlist commander Tomás de Zumalacárregui at the pass at Arquijas, Navarre. Liberal commander Francisco Espoz y Mina sent 5,000...
but were repulsed.
Scheme of the battle
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(1) Sierra de Andía. (2) Valle de Aralar. (3) Valle de Amescoa Alta. (4) Sierra de Lóquiz. (5) Orbiso. (6) Zúñiga. (7) Cerro Eternidad. (8) Valle de Barabia. (9) Valle de Lana. (10) Peña La Gallina. (11) Río Ega. (12) Puente Santa Cruz Campezu. (13) Puente de Arquijas. (14) Puente de Lana. (15) Santa Cruz de Campezu. (16) Acedo. (17) Puerto de Aguilar. (18) Sierra de Codés. (19) Valle de La Berrueza. (20) Los Arcos